This invention is directed to a chair having a flexible back support with massage rollers pressing forward to flex the back support. A drive linkage drives the rollers up and down the back support as the back is rocked.
Most chairs support the principal weight of the person by posterior engagement on the seat of the chair. However, a back support is necessary for long-term, comfortable sitting. Both the seat and the chair back are preferably configured to properly engage the person so that loading is most comfortable. Many office-type chairs have adjustments to achieve this end. Many chairs are configured so that at least the back rocks with respect to the floor. In the class known as xe2x80x9crocking chairs,xe2x80x9d the seat an back are fixed with respect to each other. They are supported on rockers which permit the chair structure to rock with respect to the floor. In other cases, particularly office chair the structure of the chair may be non-rocking with respect to the floor, but the back can rock back and forth with respect to the seat. Various levels of comfort are achieved by providing the rocking feature.
It would be desirable to utilize the rocking motion of the back to cause therapeutic motion of rollers working on the person""s body through the back of the chair.
In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a chair with massage rollers. The chair is configured so that rollers make contact with the portions of an individual seated in the chair through the chair back. The rollers are connected to the non-rocking part of the chair, which is stationary so that the rollers move against a portion of the chair to thus cause manipulation of the muscles of the seated person.
It is, thus, a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a chair with massage pressure devices such as rollers or pads which act through the chair onto the person seated in the chair as the person rocks in the chair.
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a massage roller structure which is useful in a conventional rocking chair or any kind of chair where the seat rocks with the back as well as with a chair where the back is pivoted with respect to the seat, with the massage rollers moved by the relative motion of the back to cause massage activity.
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide massage rollers or pads and mounting therefor which can be attached an already existing chair to add the feature of massage thereto.
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a chair with massage rollers wherein the height and/or the force of the massage rollers against the chair can be adjusted.
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide massage rollers, in association with a chair with a rocking back, of such adjustable nature as to permit adjustment of the roller position and/or the roller pressure.
It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to supplement or replace the spring or bias mechanism which is used in many office chairs to allow the back to return after flexing backward under a load and utilize that motion to drive a massage mechanism.
It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide massage rollers which can be attached to a suitable chair with rocking back so as to convert the chair into one having massage rollers actuated by rocking of the chair back.
Other purposes and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following portion of the specification, the claims and the attached drawings.